Self-Compassion and Sense of Coherence as Predictors of Quality of Life in Young Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Breast cancer poses substantial challenges to women’s quality of life, highlighting the importance of positive psychological resources in coping with the demands of this disease. Existing research has mainly focused on older women and medical outcomes, with limited attention to the role of positive psychological resources in the quality of life of younger women. Specifically, the associations of self-compassion and sense of coherence with quality of life in this population needs further investigation. A cross-sectional research design was used to conduct this research. A sample of 100 females with the first and second stages of breast cancer was selected with an age range of 21 to 40 years ( M= 32.6, SD= 5.54) using a non probability purposive sampling technique. The Self-compassion short scale, sense of coherence scale and the Quality of life questionnaire EORTC QLQ - BR 23 were used to measure the study variables. The findings of this research showed that a significant positive relationship exists between self compassion, sense of coherence and quality of life. The results also indicated self compassion  and sense of coherence as the positive predictors of better quality of life. The findings highlight the importance  of quality of life and its overall positive impact on the lives of females with breast cancer. These findings may have implications beyond breast cancer, highlighting the potential of self-compassion and sense of coherence as positive psychological resources for promoting well-being and quality of life among women living with diverse chronic health conditions.